A London chauffeur, who believed he was in a romantic relationship with a Qatari princess, has been sentenced to a 12-month neighborhood order and a 30-day rehabilitation exercise requirement by Westminster Magistrates’ Courtroom. Jihad Abousalah, 47, was discovered responsible of stalking Haya Al-Thani, a Qatari princess. The court docket was advised that Abousalah, employed as Al-Thani’s chauffeur, believed he was romantically concerned along with her.
Prosecutor David Burns detailed how Abousalah’s behaviour escalated, together with sending Al-Thani presents resembling a bracelet and flowers, in addition to notes wishing her a cheerful birthday. Whereas Al-Thani was in Doha, she started receiving many cellphone calls from him.
Abousalah additionally visited Al-Thani’s London residence, making an attempt to ship flowers to her by way of a member of her workers. His steady behaviour raised important concern, prompting Al-Thani to ask her husband, Mohamed Al-Thani, to rearrange for personal safety to make sure her security.
The court docket heard that Al-Thani’s day by day life was severely disrupted by Abousalah’s actions. She reported feeling unsafe in her own residence and expressed considerations about Abousalah’s data of her kids’s schedules.
The prosecutor, David Burns, mentioned, “She (Al-Thani) mentioned the entire incident induced her alarm and misery. She has mentioned she couldn’t go about her regular day-to-day life. She feels she wants safety for herself and for her kids.”
The princess even incessantly regarded out of her home windows to make sure he was not close by, Burns added.
Defence counsel Sundeep Pankhania advised the court docket that Abousalah’s actions had been influenced by psychological sickness. He mentioned, “He (Abousalah) had an ill-formed view that he was in a relationship with the princess. He divorced his spouse as a result of he genuinely held that perception.”
Choose Louisa Cieciora acknowledged the affect of Abousalah’s psychological well being on his actions, saying, “Your duty is considerably diminished by cause of your psychological dysfunction.” However she additionally famous the “very critical misery” induced to Al-Thani and her household. Recognising his regret, Cieciora sentenced Abousalah to a neighborhood order and mandated participation in rehabilitation actions.
A 3-year restraining order was issued, prohibiting Abousalah from contacting Al-Thani or her husband and barring him from London’s Hyde Park space.
